Follow FMLink

Menu

Find out how this surgery center is getting safe, continuous disinfection through its lighting

by Brianna Crandall — May 26, 2017 — New Century Spine and Outpatient Surgical Institute recently selected Indigo-Clean continuous environmental disinfecting operating room light fixtures to help reduce the risk of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). It is the first free-standing surgery center to employ the innovative product.

This photo of the waiting room at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin shows the Indigo-only Solution that can be used for a higher level of disinfection when a room is unoccupied in the foreground, and the Blended Solution for normal visible white light with continuous lower-level disinfection in the background. (Photo: Indigo-Clean)

Opened in 2016, the goal of the 10,700-square-foot multispecialty surgery center is not only to provide high-quality patient care in an outpatient setting, but also to provide patients, families and staff a safe environment as soon as they enter the facility. To help meet that goal, the Center chose to install the latest disinfecting technology throughout the building, including Indigo-Clean disinfecting lights in the operating rooms.

Thomas Ragukonis, MD, medical director, stated:

Our patients trust us to give them safe, quality care, and so it was important for us to build a facility using the most innovative and effective infection prevention technologies. We chose to invest in Indigo-Clean for our operating room lighting not only because of the proven high antimicrobic rates, but we appreciated the ease of use, and the ability to continuously disinfect our operating rooms without any downtime. That translates into more procedures and more revenue for us.

Indigo-Clean fixtures use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to generate visible white light that also contains a narrow spectrum of indigo-colored light. This indigo color uses a wavelength of 405 nanometers (nm) to automatically, safely and continuously disinfect the air, hard and soft surfaces. The 405nm light is absorbed by molecules within bacteria, producing a chemical reaction that kills the bacteria from the inside as if common household bleach had been released within the bacterial cells. When the operating room (OR) is not being used, the disinfecting lights can be switched to an Indigo-only mode, providing a higher degree of safe bacteria elimination.

Indigo-Clean bolsters current disinfecting efforts to reduce harmful bacteria in the environment. Recent hospital research studies cited by the company have reportedly proven significant antimicrobial kill rates of more than 70 percent, including proven efficacy in killing MRSA and C-diff.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as cited by Indigo-Clean, on any given day, around one in every 25 U.S. hospital patients contracts an infection in a healthcare setting. A CDC survey estimates that 75,000 hospital patients with hospital-acquired infections died during their hospitalization in 2011, and nearly one-fourth (157,500 patients) developed infections from surgeries. Increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is estimated to kill up to 99,000 Americans and infect another 1.7 million each year.

Indigo-Clean is an affiliate of Kenall Manufacturing, founded in 1963, which provides sealed lighting for containment or clean spaces, security lighting for detention facilities, and specialized healthcare and transportation applications.